Introduction and overview: Pursuing a talent development approach to education: Samplings from Howard University CRESPAR

Journal of Negro Education, The, Winter 2001 by Jagers, Robert J

This special issue of the Journal of Negro Education features some of the work of researchers from the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At-Risk (CRESPAR) at Howard University. CRESPAR is a collaborative effort between Johns Hopkins University and Howard University with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. The general aim of this collaboration is to conduct research and development in comprehensive school reform.

The stated mission of Howard University CRESPAR is to research, develop, evaluate and disseminate school and community programs and practices that will ensure each child achieves his or her full potential. Five projects have been initiated in pursuit of this mission. Two large-scale projects focus on developing and testing comprehensive models for elementary and secondary school reform. Three smaller projects allow for more concentrated research and development in the areas of professional development of classroom teachers, classroom assessment and evaluation strategies and practices, and the social and emotional competence promotion of elementary school children.

Although these projects differ in their scope, foci, and methods, they are bound by the Talent Development philosophy and its four key principles (Boykin, 2000). This philosophy holds that "all children can learn to high standards when there is a supportive environment, when high expectations are held by all stakeholders, and when there is clear accountability on the part of students, staff, families and the community" (Boykin, 2000, p. 7. The principles derived from this philosophy include:

1. Promotion of Multiple Outcomes: Academic success must be placed in the context of economically and personally valued skills, broad-range intellectual competence, social/emotional proficiency (including character and leadership development), community and social responsibility, cultural empowerment, and positive life transformations. Educational processes and outcomes should enhance the lives of students and their families, the school climate, the professional lives of faculty and staff, and the communities served by the school.

2. Integrity-based social ethos: Educational stakeholders must hold high expectations for themselves and others, take responsibility for the educational process and outcomes, emphasize voice and choice among participants in this process, build on assets and draw on existing knowledge, competencies, and understandings to encourage student's optimal development.

3. Co-construction: The social and cultural dynamics of students, families, teachers and other school personnel that affect learning must be respected to ensure that these stakeholders have authentic input in the learning process. Consideration must be given to information regarding the prevailing activities, interests, and values of the community in order to inform the processes, materials, and activities used in the school and in the classroom.

4. Overdetermination of success: Across the full spectrum of the schooling enterprise, multiple activities must be put in place, any one of which may lead to enhanced student outcomes.

The articles presented in these pages offer glimpses of the ways in which CRESPAR researchers are laboring to faithfully represent the Talent Development philosophy and principles in their research and development activities. Section I: Linking Concepts with Best Practices features papers aimed at formulating effective educational intervention strategies. Towns, Cole-Henderson and Serpell seek to glean lessons about school-level characteristics through a qualitative study of high performing schools serving children from poor and low-income communities. Butty uses secondary data analysis to examine the differential effects of two classroom instructional methods on attitudes toward mathematics and math outcomes among African American and Latino high school students. Carroll, LaPoint and Tyler develop the principle of co-construction using available examples from the literature as well as from elements of the CRESPAR secondary school project. Finally, Jagers explores moral competence as part of an action research project on African American children's social and emotional learning in school and extended-hour contexts.

Section 11: Laying Research Foundations contains research studies aimed at providing supporting evidence for CRESPAR intervention strategies. Two of these papers, one by Boykin and Cunningham and another by Bailey and Boykin, are part of an experimental research agenda designed to shed light on cultural assets that can be capitalized on to enhance children's learning outcomes. Jackson, LaPoint, Towns, and Butty report on their ongoing action research aimed at developing and sustaining a family resource center in an urban high school.

These papers contribute in various ways to CRESPAR efforts to place students at promise for success. The guest editor would like to take this opportunity to thank each of the contributing authors. Their hard work and patience were essential to bringing this project to fruition. I look forward to our continued collaboration.